The Death of the Force
by Ooffo Rancoofsis
Summary: Months after the Battle of Crait, the Galaxy is in ruins. There is no Republic, there is no Empire, there are no Jedi, there are no Sith. In this burned out wasteland where anarchy reigns, Rey is accompanied by an odd droid as they travel to the planet Ossus, the original home planet of the Jedi Order.
1. Chapter 1

Echoes

The Force bled- no, the Force was hemorrhaging. The Galaxy lay in ruins as screams of the dead echoed across the cold abyss of empty space. Where there was once life, there was now only gaping holes, wounds, and the echoes- the terrible undulating echoes.

Rey awoke with a scream, echoing the scream of the Force itself, her body drenched in a cold sweat. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves as her heart continued to beat faster than a Tatooine podracer.

 _I am one with the Force,_ she thought to herself, _the Force is with me, and I take refuge in it._

She tried to call upon her very, very limited Jedi training, she tried to take refuge in the Force, but the Force itself was the one that was in pain. She was just a lens for it.

It had been two months since thirty five billion perished in the Hosnian Cataclysm and ensuing chaos. Five planets had been wiped off the face of the Galaxy all at once. But it was not only the toll in sentient life that caused the Force to reel as five planetary biospheres had disappeared in the same instant.

Most people don't think about just how much life most planets have. Planetary cataclysms were thankfully rare, but when they did happen the aware galactic population would mourn the massive loss of sentient life, but what about the insects? What about the plants? What about the wild beasts, or the fish, or the bacteria, or the countless other teaming life forms contained in each and every large planetary biosphere? Obviously, the birds and the beasts don't care about the sympathy of a distant galactic population, they were already dead. The departed have no need for something as abstract as sympathy. But nobody thinks about the tidal wave of death that comes when everything down to the most humble microorganism is annihilated in a flash.

The Force, however, did remember, as it remembered all the departed. The Cosmic Force took all into itself as the Living Force cried out like a wounded animal. However, it was not just the tremendous loss of life that caused the echoes, the overall chaos of the Galaxy caused them to travel far and wide. The Jedi were dead, the Sith were dead. It had been two months since the two most powerful practitioners of the light and dark had passed into the Force as well. Snoke was dead, and not long afterwards Luke Skywalker himself had died. There was nobody left. No Jedi, no Sith.

That's not to say that there were no other Force users, there were, but these scattered dark Jedi and half-trained apprentices were but children playing with toys compared to the power and wisdom of the old masters. The most notable of these was Ben Solo. Also known as Kylo Ren, the madman had served Snoke before eventually betraying him. Now, Ren ruled the shattered remains of the First Order as they continued their unsuccessful campaign against the dying embers of galactic civilization.

Rey thought about Ren a lot. They shared a strange bond in the Force. She couldn't explain how or why, but it linked them together despite their mutual efforts to ignore it. Somehow Snoke had linked them together and despite his death, the bond remained. Or perhaps the bond was already there before Snoke's interference. She thought back to her first encounter with Ren. The monster had tried to rip information out of her mind, and yet somehow, despite having absolutely no training in the Force, she had been able to resist him. In fact, it was more than that. She had been able to _copy_ him. It was as if once he tried to invade her mind, she instantly understood how he was able to perform such a feat, and could then counter and even _reverse_ the effects. It was almost as if their minds had touched and had become intertwined even then.

Hours later, when they fought on the artificial frozen terrain of the Starkiller, it was almost as if she could visualize his attacks and counter them before he had even swung his lightsaber. She had zero training in lightsaber combat, and yet she could tell what he would do, and even more so, she could _copy_ his own lightsaber form and use it to counter his own clumsy strikes. Perhaps the bond was there even back then, Snoke just excited it, and took advantage of it.

Rey shook her head. She could not dwell on these things. She ripped the tangled sheets off her bed and landed her feet on the floor. She looked around the darkened interior of the Millennium Falcon. She reached out with the Force despite being well aware that she was the only living being aboard the ship as it made its way through hyperspace towards the planet Ossus. She stood up and walked to the refresher.

Splashing her face with water, she thought back to the events that led up to her making a pilgrimage to the lost Jedi world of Ossus. After the Battle of Crait, the Resistance was devastated. The survivors had been reduced to the double digits and they had no supplies, no allies, no ships, no weapons. Many considered throwing in the towel. After all, why not? The Resistance was founded as a means to stop the First Order from spreading and engulfing the Galaxy, turning it into a second Galactic Empire, and for the most part, they had succeeded. It had cost everything, but they had stopped the First Order, and utterly humiliated it at that, before they could spread.

After a string of defeats, the First Order had no hope of conquering the burned out cinder of the Galaxy they lived in. The New Republic was ashes and would remain ashes, but at least such an extreme brand of imperialism was not running the show. The Starkiller had been destroyed and Snoke was dead. The First Order had all the faults of the Empire taken to the extreme.

The Empire had dumped trillions of taxpayer credits into moronic superweapon projects, such as the Death Star. The Death Stars had no practical economic use and only served to cow planetary governments into submission, although, even that had the opposite effect. Grand Moff Tarkin, displaying his usual lack of tact and long term strategy, had fired upon the peaceful planet of Alderaan. Although the Empire tried to manufacture a cover story, they could not hide what had happened for long. Just as the echoes in the Force continued to the edges of the Galaxy, the political repercussions spread, fanning the flames of the Rebellion. With the Death Star's destruction, this Rebellion was given a new impetus, and after the Battle of Endor, the whole Imperial monolith fell in flames. The First Order had similarly destroyed the Hosnian System. Presumably, Snoke had planned to have the First Order slowly expand, consuming systems one by one and reuniting them into a second Galactic Empire, but with his death, the Galaxy remained in a state of anarchy.

While this galactic state of nature was not preferable, at least the First Order had no shot at coming back. Perhaps, in time, the Republic would bounce back, or perhaps a new confederation or alliance of systems would form, but it was too early to tell. The Galaxy stood on the verge of a dark age if this continued. There was no point for the Resistance to exist, they had done their duty, and the Galaxy must be given time to heal. And yet, despite being utterly devastated and under the command of incompetent leadership, the First Order was still out there, and if they were not stopped, the Galaxy would not be allowed to heal, and the Dark Age would follow. They had no hope of conquering the Galaxy, but their very presence was a source of general instability.

To this end, General Leia Organa Solo had gone to her mysterious allies in the Unknown Regions. Rey personally doubted that they, whoever they were, would be willing to help, but when you have nothing, you can at least try. With the death of Luke, Rey was left completely without guidance. She begged Leia to tell her where she could find more information on the Jedi. Leia was hesitant, but in the end Rey coaxed the name of a planet out of her. The planet Ossus, rumored to be the original home of the Jedi, was where she and Luke had once gone looking for any available information on the Jedi. They had found none, but Luke had befriended a tribe of natives known as the Ysanna. They were mildly Force sensitive and retained some of the the teachings of the Jedi. Perhaps due to her familiarity with Luke they would be willing to help her. Or perhaps they would kill her and roast her flesh for a holiday feast. Worth a try.

"Mocking Query: Master, are you finished hydrating your epidermis?"

Rey groaned and turned off the water. Standing in the doorframe was a large red droid with an oversized BlasTech E-11 blaster rifle. Rey wanted to make the journey to Ossus herself, but Leia had insisted that the journey was too dangerous to go on alone and that she should take someone. Rey had suggested that the shellshocked ex-First Order stormtrooper Finn should accompany her, but Leia thought that was a terrible idea. Instead, she had given Rey a 'translator droid' for safekeeping. This droid, had somehow come into the service of Luke Skywalker, but after Skywalker's self-imposed exile, the droid was left lying around in the ruins of Luke's Jedi academy. Leia had found it and since she was the brother of Luke, it pledged itself to Leia. Leia was not exactly thrilled with this development and was quick to pass it off to Rey.

"What do you want HK-47?" Rey asked.

"Statement: Master, we are nearing the planet Ossus. We should arrive there in approximately 1.12 hours if R2-D2's internal computer is accurate. Mocking Query: Would you like me to land the ship, or would you like to almost crash into another transport bus full of Rodians again?"

"Hey! It's not my fault they couldn't drive!"

 **"** Amused Retort: Oh really?" The droid seemed to shift voices. It then began to play a recording. " _Of course I can fly this thing? What? I don't care about the outbound traffic, I can make it. What? Wait- what AAAGH!"_

"Why on bloody Malachor do you still have that recording?" Rey asked in shock.

"Response: Because it amuses me."

"Fine. You can fly the thing, just get out of my room, I need to meditate."

"Response: As you wish master," said the droid as it walked out the room.

Rey watched the droid leave before sitting down on the floor. She tried to find calm, find her inner peace, find the Force deep inside her just as Luke had taught her.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note: This is my first attempt writing anything set in the Disneyverse. I've had this idea bouncing around in my head for a while now and thought that it wouldn't hurt to write it down. It's, obviously, set in the Disney Canon, but I will be making heavy use of Expanded Universe elements. If you do not know anything about the Expanded Universe, just treat them as original characters and concepts. Also, I know very little about the Disneyverse in comparison to the Expanded Universe, so if I make any mistakes, you're welcome to point them out. Thanks for reading.**_


	2. Ch 2: Heir to the Empire

Heir to the Empire

"Lord Ren, sir," came a small and somewhat nervous voice.

Ben Solo, known to his men as Kylo Ren, looked over his shoulder. It was Alema Pryce, one of the junior officers assigned to his bridge command aboard the _Resurgence-_ class Star Destroyer _Finalizer_. She was known to be a calm and competent commander; it was strange to hear her show any hint of fear in her voice. Surely whatever that fool Hux and the other traitorous generals could be up to can't be _that_ bad. Could it?

"What is it, Pryce?" he asked.

"Sir, you have a transmission coming through," she said, "It is of the highest priority for your eyes only."

"Who is it?" he asked in confusion.

Pryce swallowed, a display of emotion very much unlike her, "Sir, I think you should see for yourself. Um, please hurry. The line has been ringing."

"I'll be right there." Ren stood up from his chair and briskly walked towards the turbolift at the far end of the bridge. Some of his men watched him leave, others whom he passed saluted him. He didn't pay them any heed. Still, he couldn't help picking up on the ambient nervousness in the air. Everyone was on edge since the death of Supreme Leader Snoke and the subsequent schism in the First Order between those who followed Hux in accusing Ren of murder and those who followed Ren as he was the next in line regardless of his actions. He continued his brisk pace after he exited the turbolift and made his way to his private meditation chamber.

He arrived and checked the electronic caller ID readout. His blood chilled and the frost cut to the very marrow of his bones. _No… no… this can't be!_ But as he continued to stare at the caller ID, it didn't change. He read it over, hoping that his eyes were deceiving him, hoping that this was a bad dream. _No! He's dead…. I killed him myself!_ But it did not change. There, on the screen, was the exact same transmitter code that the Supreme Leader himself had used to contact him in the past. _He's alive!_ He felt dizzy, as if he was going to faint. He wanted to run away, run and hide. If _that thing_ could transcend death, he had no idea what it was capable of. And yet, as he stood there, the line continued to beep. He had to face it.

He tried to bury his presence in the Force. Perhaps if _he_ could not sense him, he would be unable to affect him telekinetically or through some other arcane means, and yet, such a technique never came easily to him. It required a calm that he could never summon even in the best of times. He stepped into the chamber and pressed the access button.

At that instant, a massive hologram appeared in front of him, but instead of the burned, charred, utterly alien face that he expected, the person on the other end appeared surprisingly human. The hologram displayed his body from the waist up. The figure wore a spotless white uniform pressed and sharp enough to cut durasteel. He wore gold shoulder tassels and an unusual rank plate. The plate displayed an incredible four blue, three red, and three gold rectangles, but what caught his eye and made him gasp in shock was the man's face. The face was old, clearly displaying the hardships of many years, with sunken eyes and hollow cheeks, but the skin was a deep blue and the eyes a glowing red showing almost no pupil.

"Kylo Ren," the man almost sneered, "It is about time for you and your small and scattered faction to once again join with the Empire. I will be taking command from here on out."

"I- uh- uh-eh?!" Ren stuttered, his mind reeling from the unexpected development. "How?!" he managed to spit out at last after several seconds of gasping.

"Perhaps I did not make myself clear," said the man, "I am Grand Admiral Thrawn, appointed to serve and protect the Empire unto death by Emperor Palpatine himself. Since I am the last Grand Admiral, I will be assuming command."

"Th- but-!"

"Calm yourself, boy. Those who are not calm are more likely to err, and those who err are more likely to become a mistake."

"No! No! NO! You can't do this! You aren't even part of the First Order!" Ren stood up. "I'm Supreme Leader Ren!" He shouted pointing a finger at the hologram.

"Perhaps you misunderstand, boy." The man's expression didn't change. "Recall the history of your 'First Order.' It was founded around the territory of Grand Admiral Atha Prime after the death of Emperor Palpatine. However, due to Prime's small territory, his faction joined the Empire of the Hand, led by myself, along with several other factions, following the Battle of Jakku. Due to Prime's rank, he took his position at my side as we rebuilt the Empire. It was only when Prime's health began to deteriorate that he passed on his title of Grand Admiral, with the authorization of the Council of Moffs, to his successor, Snoke. It was Snoke who drove the wedge deep between the surviving factions, seizing power with the construction of his beloved superweapons. Those who were allied politically with him broke off, but still retained the titles and structure of the Empire of the Hand. Now he is dead. Now, as the last Grand Admiral, I will reunite the Empire."

Ren was dumbstruck. He opened and closed his mouth several times. He pointed at the hologram and clenched his fist. He wished that he had practiced the art of Force choking people via hologram. The challenge that came when using the Force on distant objects was not a matter of power, after all, the Force existed everywhere, and so it was easy to will an effect near or far. The problem came when trying to _locate_ the target through the Force. Such subtle applications of the Force never came easy to him. "You and what army?" he sneered.

"I'm glad you asked," said the Grand Admiral without breaking stride, "Supreme Commander Gilad Pellaeon of the Imperial Remnant has already promised to assist the Empire of the Hand. We are currently working out the details. Your, shall I say, rival, General Hux, has also pledged his faction to our alliance."

Ren opened his mouth and closed it again. " _Hux?!_ Wha- He's a traitor! I will crush him-"

"You will do no such thing," said Thrawn cooly, "His faction has is allied with the Empire of the Hand and, by extension, the Imperial Remnant. Any act of hostility against him will invoke the wrath of the entire Empire. It is _you_ who will be the traitor should you choose to attack us. The death of Snoke has ripped your 'First Order' in two. It would be much better if you two did not annihilate each other so that we all can focus on the task at hand."

Ren continued to stare at the hologram.

"This would be an alliance that will be beneficial for the both of us, and for the entire Empire. Thanks to the actions of your 'Supreme Leader,' the Galaxy is a cinderbox. Even the lawless wastes of the Unknown Regions show more order thanks to the presence of the Empire of the Hand. Together, we can expand this order throughout the Galaxy bringing peace and taming the chaos. And if these idealistic concerns do not motivate you, ask yourself, what are you the king of? What are you trying to prove? You are a warlord hiding out in empty space, constantly plotting against his rivals, rather than working _with_ them towards a higher goal. And like most warlords, you built your castle upon a foundation of sand.

His voice lowered. "It is not wise to resist the Empire, and I believe we can still work together. I will be hosting a summit between the heads of the various Imperial factions to work out the details. The time and place of this summit will be announced, but I saved you a seat. I grant your forty-eight hours to accept this invitation, and I look forward to seeing you there."

The hologram winked out of existence leaving Ren alone in the dark.


	3. Ch 3: Allies in the Unknown Regions

Allies in the Unknown Regions

The Nebulon-C escort frigate drifted through space. Appearing as a small speck in the distance was the the Chiss Colony Station Cam'co, a base stationed at the far end of the Chiss Ascendency. House Nuruodo, which served as the executive branch of the Chiss Ascendency, made a point in dealing with strangers from the greater Galaxy at a point far removed from the heart of the tangled web of hyperlanes that was Chiss Space. Cam'co Station, located in what even the Chiss considered to be a frontier system, was the perfect rendezvous point. Anyone wishing to know the location of Cam'co Station had to have the coordinates of the safe passages already granted to them by House Nuruodo, and even if someone wished to use these coordinates for nefarious purposes, the system was a long way from the Chiss homeworld of Csilla.

Behind the Nebulon-C was one of the most powerful ships in the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet, a Chiss Star Destroyer which was flanked by a dozen Nssis-class Clawcraft-quite the welcoming party. The Chiss had the firepower to destroy the Nebulon in minutes. The Chiss did not usually try to intimidate their allies, but they seemed to be extra cautious.

Cam'co Station had the appearance of two large cones stuck together at their bases floating through space, a standard Chiss military space station. As the Nebulon drew closer, a small square of lights began to flash and small docking claws opened up. A tractor beam was turned on, and the Nebulon was ordered to power down.

* * *

On the bridge, Leia Organa Solo watched. The past two months had been a trying experience as many of the Resistance members who survived had abandoned the cause and those who remained were often bitter. The most grievous loss was that of Poe Dameron. After the Battle of Crait, the Millennium Falcon escaped the system and its crew ended up on the planet Talasea, which housed a storeroom of supplies and weapons. The very night of arrival, Poe found an old Rebellion-era X-Wing fighter still in working condition. He took off and was never seen again.

From Talasea, Leia was able to call in forces from planets who were sympathetic to their cause, but the request was more often than not met with either silence or a cold refusal. Still, by calling in favors and using what remained of her financial resources she was able to gather together a small fleet and army. Still, without firm leadership the Resistance was handicapped, and she now hoped that the Chiss, her last and greatest ally, would come through, although given the cold welcome her hopes were not high.

Leadership, leadership is the key- the key she did not have. Not only did the greatest pilot arguably since Wedge Antilles himself desert her cause, but Vice Admiral Holdo, her own apprentice, was dead. Leia was not very skilled with the Force. Due to her government work, she never had the time to devote herself to Luke's training regimen. Still, Luke had taught her the basics. She discovered that she had a particular talent with precognition and telepathy, abilities which under the guidance of Luke she turned into a primitive form of Battle Meditation- the power to predict multiple outcomes of a battle and guide one's forces towards that victory. This skill had been invaluable during the early skirmishes and as soon as Leia discovered Holdo's force-sensitivity, she was quick to nurture the same abilities in her.

Still, Holdo was arrogant. Once she discovered that she could envision the future and guide the present towards that reality, her planning abilities began to slip. After all, if one can see and the future, why couldn't one create the most byzantine systems and plots imaginable? She did not account for free will and the sheer mathematical unpredictability of chaos theory. There is an old Bendu doctrine, closely related to the concepts of dependant origination and emptiness, that the present is the result of billions of tiny millisecond changes and variables that could have been different. Leia was never taught this doctrine as it was forgotten with the Jedi Purge. Even if one can see the future, simple plans are prefered as there is less that can go wrong.

Still, if it wasn't for Holdo, Leia would be dead. Either Leia or Holdo could have performed the act which saved the small Resistance remnant, but one of them had to die because nobody else could do it. When ships enters or leaves hyperspace, space is torn as the ship is elevated to a corridor in the higher dimensions of hyperspace. This spatial rift is proportional to both the mass of the ship and its hypervelocity, and yet due to the vastness of space, even large and fast ships could often jump in and out of hyperspace around space stations and other ships without much danger. In fact, even if one _wanted_ to crash a ship into another while entering hyperspace, it was almost impossible. Ships are small and space is big, just a few microdegrees can drastically change the ship's vector. If two ships were a safe distance away from each other, these small degrees effectively acted as a hyperspace shield. Enter hyperspace too early, and the ship would pass over the other. Jump too far to one side or the other and the spatial rift would not even effect the other. As such only one particularly skilled in Jedi precognition could hope to crash a ship into another while entering hyperspace. Thus, such a tactic could never become a mainstream strategy.

Even if one had precognition, weaponizing hyperspace is a tricky affair. The ships had to be lined up just right and of targetable size. A smaller ship was almost impossible to hit, even for a Jedi, but a larger ship provided a greater target. However, this tactic was almost impossible to use against planetoids and large space stations as the mass shadow of said planetoid would rip the ship out of hyperspace before it made contact with the planet's surface.

There was only one known occasion of a successful use of this tactic against a planetary body. Sometime during the Clone Wars, a possibly deranged Jedi jumped the Republic battlecruiser Quaestor into the Separatist world of Pammant, destroying the planet by fracturing its core. However, Pammant was a smaller world whose insides were mostly hollow generating only a minor mass shadow. Additionally, the Jedi in question took advantage of a Separatist hyperspace launcher, using it to shoot his ship into hyperspace before he turned on his own hyperdrive to gather momentum. As much as later military strategists may have wanted to duplicate this feat, due to the special conditions and circumstances involved, it was far too impractical to even consider. Holdo had only been able to ram the Mega-class dreadnought due to its relative size and her own precognitive abilities.

Even more devastating to the Resistance was the inglorious death of Admiral Ackbar. Ackbar was by far the greatest admiral the Rebellion, the New Republic, and the Resistance ever had. In many ways, he was the face of the high command itself, the living embodiment of how to run the navy. Before his death, he was officially retired but had instantly volunteered when the First Order attacked. Leia knew that even with the chaos of the collapse of the New Republic and the potential collapse of civilization itself right around the corner, the militaries of many worlds that had once been members of the New Republic were mourning his death- and likely cursing her own name.

Leia felt the shutter of the magnetic locks fastening the Nebulon to Cam'co Station. She left the bridge and began to walk to the boarding dock.

* * *

A Chiss sergeant with a large Charric rifle greeted Leia. He merely informed her, in the Sy Bisti trade language, that the Aristocra wished to see her, and so the Resistance party was led by armed Chiss soldiers through the corridors of Cam'co Station. Eventually, the party emerged in a large auditorium-like room which reminded Leia of inside of a courthouse. Seated upon a raised platform at one end were seven Chiss, who watched her with their red eyes as she entered. The Resistance party was left to stand in the middle of the room as the guards spread out keeping their rifles at the ready. Leia took her position directly in front of the Aristocra, an elderly Chiss female.

"Aristocra Sev'eere'nuruodo," said Leia formally in Sy Bisti, "I bid you greetings from the Resistance-"

"Do not use my full name," said the Aristocra with a sneer, "tell me what you demand from us."

"I do not demand anything, Aristocra Veeren," said Leia diplomatically using the short hand version of her name, "we are allies together determined to preserve sentient civilization against tyranny- a mutually beneficial arrangement."

"Do not try to deceive me with your honeyed words," said Veeren, "I know why you are here. You have failed. You have utterly failed after squandering our resources and now you come to us demanding more aid from the Chiss Ascendency. Do you now expect us to fight your wars for you?"

"Aristocra Veeren, we destroyed the Starkiller upholding our end of the bargain."

"You destroyed it _after_ it obliterated your 'New Republic' and now the Galaxy is in a state of anarchy! We gave you the tools necessary to cripple the First Order _while_ upholding peace and stability in the wider Galaxy."

"Your honor, the Hosnian System was destroyed after years of political turmoil. There was nothing we could do."

"You could have sabotaged the Starkiller _before_ it was operational like you agreed to do!"

"The New Republic could not organize the fleet for such a thing as that would provoke full-on war. We had to operate through the Resistance only as it was technically an independent political entity."

"Well a war is better than the collapse of civilization, now isn't it?"

Leia bit her tongue.

"Do you know how it works out here in the 'Unknown Regions'?" asked Veeren.

"I am not as familiar with your politics as you are."

"Out here, it is like a jungle, and we, the Chiss, are like the permacrete city that slowly expands to cover the jungle. We are civilization amidst a sea of anarchy. We fought several wars with the Vagaari and the Killik hives. Everyday the Empire of the Hand expands and encroaches on our southern border while the Rakata strike at our northern borders. There are a hundred different threats out here that would freeze your blood if you knew of them- and something is stirring them up."

"Aristocra," interrupted one of the other Chiss. Veeren glanced over at him and decided that some things are better left unsaid. She took a breath.

"Without civilization, all that is left is the state of nature- in which an eternal war blazes between all against all. We do not want that to happen either, but in the face of it anything is preferable."

"If anything is preferable," said Leia more than a bit annoyed, "You will help us."

"You have no army and a small navy. You have no loyalty or leadership. Even if we did help you, our resources would be squandered as all our aid in the past has been. At this point, I would rather give aid to the Rogue!"

"The Rogue?"

Veeren realized that she had stumbled upon an unpleasant topic. "Leave us. I no longer care what you do or where you go as long as you do not threaten the Chiss Ascendancy. With the Galaxy in ruins and civilization on the brink of collapse we must prepare ourselves. I hope that the Galaxy is able to break into several confederations because at this point even an eternal war against various factions is preferred to the state of nature, and so I would recommend joining the strongest, but as it stands we are on the edge of a precipice. One small nudge could send everyone over. I do not know which way to push to send the Galaxy in the opposite direction- if that is even possible at that point, but I am not about to give our limited resources to a group that had repeatedly butchered our chances of peace with ineptitude. If the first great Fall since the last Dark Age is coming, the Chiss should stay out of it to prevent us from being dragged back 25,000 years on the technological ladder."


	4. Ch 4: Ossus

Ossus

Most planets in the galaxy were normal. Most planets orbited around a single star thereby making the lives of everyone involved easy. One could easily match up planet and star and catalogue other planets and satellites in relation to the star in question. However, occasionally you ran into a binary star, and sometimes these stars had their own planets. These made the lives of astronomers difficult as calculating the orbit of a planet around two centers of mass was impossible to perform with precision, a mathematical irregularity that became known as the Three Body Problem. However, most of the time the planet cooperated by orbiting around both stars in a wide orbit.

The planet Ossus in the Adega system did not cooperate. It orbited in a _figure eight_ pattern between the binary stars. A planet with such an orbit would be impossible in any sane universe, but not only did the planet Ossus exist, but it had once been teaming with life. To further add to the gravitational nightmare, Ossus had a large moon named Nerit. This moon was so large that many people considered 'Ossus' to part of a double planet system together with its moon. Stranger still, Nerit was one of the only known moons in the galaxy that was more massive than it's primary planet, that is to say, Ossus was large in diameter, but Nerit was more massive. This oddity caused Ossus to orbit around Nerit even more than Nerit orbited around Ossus despite their relative sizes. This mass difference was caused by Ossus being large but having a mantle and crust composed mostly of light elements with very few metals. On the contrary, Nerit was full of dense metals and hyperbarides with a molten lead and uranium core. Nerit's mass caused it to be more heavily affected by the gravitational tides of the two suns whereas Ossus was relatively stable thanks to its more flexible composition. As such, due to these tidal forces and radioactive decay in Nerit's core, the surface of Nerit was a hellish volcanic landscape with a few temperate and fertile plateaus here and there.

The Intergalactic Union of Astronomers was at a loss when it came to explaining such phenomena. The leading hypothesis was that the system was constructed by a race of ancient aliens, most likely the Celestials.

Now while the Celestials were infamous for being the subject of almost as many crazy crackpot ancient alien theories as there are crazy crackpot ancient alien theorists, the Intergalactic Union of Astronomers was not stupid. They were scientific and believed that if an extraordinary claim had extraordinary evidence, they should at least consider it. As to the Adegan system, it was ironically much easier to explain the phenomena by appealing to ancient aliens that it was to appeal to natural causes- a situation which provoked considerable methodological fights as to what counted as a valid scientific theory.

Rey however did not have any of these scholarly concerns on her mind. She sat cross legged on the bedroom floor as she tried to get in touch with the Living Force, but it was elusive. Ever since the death of Luke Skywalker it had not come easy to her. But then again, maybe it never came easily to her. After all, she went from not even knowing she was Force-sensitive to being able to levitate large mounds of stones in about a week. Perhaps it was a fluke. Perhaps the strong Force nexus present on Ahth-to had given her the clarity needed to connect to the Force or perhaps it was the presence of Luke Skywalker himself, but in any event she could now barely feel the Force. It was still there, she could at least feel it that much, but it was distant and elusive, like a distant echo or a twinkling star.

The ship rocked and she gave up. She rose to her feet and walked over into the cockpit of the _Millennium Falcon_ where she found HK-47 trying to guide the ship through the turbulent planetary atmosphere. Strangely enough, there was little moisture at this elevation, but the ship was rocking from side to side.

"Cautious Greeting: Please do not touch anything, master," said the droid, "The upper atmosphere of Ossus has very high winds due to gravitational tidal forces from its two suns and primary moon. I would rather not be disassembled in a fiery crash."

"How is there this much wind up here if there are no storms?" asked Rey "Back on Jakku the winds usually only picked up in a sandstorm."

"Annoyed response: Master, do I look like a weather droid to you? Besides we are at too high of an altitude for storms and every planet has different climate patterns."

Rey didn't respond. The ship continued to descend for several minutes.

"Do you know where to land?" Rey asked at last.

"Reply: Master Luke and I came here several years ago. I will land where he landed."

After several minutes the ship descended beneath the planet's upper atmosphere, and the ride became much smoother. Apparently the hurricane force winds were only an issue in the upper layers of the atmosphere. For the next few miles, the ship fell with it's repulsor engines on to come to a slow and controlled glide down. Eventually, the landing gear deployed and the _Falcon_ touched down.

Looking out the transparisteel cockpit windows, Rey could tell that it was around the middle of the day. The large ruins cast long shadows despite the sun being high, a testament to their size, and in all other directions the desert stretched until a small ridge of mountains in the distance. Rey checked the scanners. The atmosphere was breathable and there was no harmful contagents. She walked over to the back of the _Falcon_ with HK-47 close behind. She pressed a button and the ramp fell.

Stepping outside, the desert air reminded her of home, and due to the familiar climate, she was wearing her desert robes rather than the clothes that Leia had given her. She wore a small blaster on her waist.

"HK, what was your visit here with Luke like?"

"Nostalgic response: Oh master, it was a pleasant excursion."

"No, I mean where did you go? What did you do? I have no idea how to navigate this planet."

"Resigned response: Fine." The droid pointed at the large structure in front of them and walked over. Rey followed. "These are the remains of the Great Library of the Jedi. At one point it housed the center of the Jedi Order itself- that was around four thousand years ago."

"What happened?"

"Sarcastic response: Oh master, but you're the Jedi, you should know this. Didn't master Luke teach you anything about history?"

"We didn't really have time for that."

"Weary reply: Oh woe is the state of education these days! However will the youth survive if they know nothing? Anyway, around four thousand years ago was the Great Sith War- I assume you know nothing about this right?"

"Not a clue."

"Mocking response: It's almost as if someone retconned the entire history of the Galaxy before the rise of the Empire! Oh how many stories have been lost and are being ignored! Anyhow, the Great Sith War was an event which saw two young and powerful Jedi, named Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma turn to the 'dark side.' They gathered a large band of followers and waged war against the Jedi. Sometime during the conflict, the nearby Cron Cluster was somehow detonated. Since the Cron Cluster is less than a light year away, the radiation blast and supernovae shockwave destroyed Ossus and the surrounding planets."

"Wait, but if the planet Ossus was destroyed in a supernovae, how is it still here?"

"Hesitant reply: I am not sure. The Cron Cluster was a system of ten incredibly small stars. The only reason they were able to detonate is because of the massive gravitational fluctuations caused by ten stars pressed together and because of the lingering gravitational influence of the Adega stars. It's… strange really. My records are sparse but it seems like the Cron System and the Adega system were once regarded as a double system."

"And you said that you have no idea what caused this?"

"Response: Well many historians think that the tidal forces generated by the Adega stars pulled too hard on the Cron Cluster causing one of its ten stars to be stretched and ripped apart, but some think that the Sith had something to do with it."

"You mean they had a weapon that could destroy an entire star system?" asked Rey remembering her nightmares about the Hosnian Cataclysm.

"Hesitant Response: It's possible, but my records seem to be… corrupted."

"Corrupted?"

"Defensive Reply: My memory chips are old. Certain areas have eroded more than others and still more are locked."

Rey thought about this. "Do you think Master Luke could have done this?"

"Admission: I do not know. If someone wiped your memory and placed you on a random planet, you would probably assume that you had simply lived there your entire life. Such things have happened before."

Rey did not like where the conversation was going. "Maybe one day I can look into your memory banks to see if I can repair them."

"Frightened reply: Oh master! Please don't! You'll only make it worse."

"Hey! I'm not that bad with machines!"

"Sardonic comeback: Oh I suppose that being a computer genius is yet another one of your 'skills' that you somehow have despite having no formal training."

"What do you mean?"

"Distracting reply: We should keep going," said HK-47 pointing at the entrance of the ancient library, "When Master Luke first came here the library was sealed up with massive stones. Apparently, some of the natives wished to barricade it. Luke had to use the Force to move the rocks aside."

Rey looked at the the stones that sat before the doorway on either side and marveled at the size of them. They made her own telekinesis she somehow demonstrated on Crait look like child's play. Rey stopped walking and extended her hand. HK-47 watched her curiously. Closing her eyes, Rey reached out with the Force.

The Force sometimes gave one fleeting sensations of the thing being moved, or rather, it was not as if she could physically _feel_ the rock without touching it, but rather it was more as if she could feel the _indention_ or shape of the rock in her mind's eye. She pressed against the rock, applying pressure like she trained to do. She remembered levitating those huge stones on Crait or pulling Luke's lightsaber out of the snow on the Starkiller. Still, somehow the Force was fleeting. She _pressed_ against the rock and became angry that it wouldn't move. She pushed again and again growing more and more frustrated by the second and yet the rock wouldn't move.

She opened her eyes and walked over to examine it. The rock was in the exact same place, but the base appeared to be slightly displaced as if someone had given it a shove to dislodge it from the surrounding mud only to let it drop back. If the rock had moved as a result of her using the Force, it probably only tilted a few centimeters in either direction. Frustrated, Rey pressed against the boulder with her arms and physically pushed it. The rock slowly moved and she was able to roll it out of its indention in the ground and send it rolling about a meter down a small dirt incline.

"Unhelpful encouragement: Very impressive master."

"Let's go," she grumbled walking towards the entrance to the library.


	5. Ch 5: Ysalamiri

Ysalamiri

Talon Karrde watched as the Imperial shuttle slowly descended through the atmosphere of Myrkr. A few dozen kilometers up and away hovered an Imperial _Victory-II_ Class Star Destroyer. The _Victory_ class was far smaller in size and armament than the infamous _Imperial_ Class Star Destroyer, but they were still produced during the height of the Empire as they were much more affordable and require less maintenance. Furthermore, there were some jobs in which a smaller ship could outperform a larger ship, raids on pirate and smuggler bases and other low level law enforcement counted as this.

After the fall of the Empire, the _Victory I_ and _Victory II_ classes experienced a major revival in popularity. Tight economic conditions and an overall lack of resources and the appropriate shipyards caused the _Victory_ classes to be the only cost effective Star Destroyer model. During the Cold War between the New Republic and the Imperial holdouts, the First Order was the only Imperial faction that continued to produce large capital ships due to their more militant nature and their access to greater equipment and resources, such as Kyber crystals mind from the planet Illum. However, even with these advantages, the First Order was able to produce only a small number of powerful vessels and newer models, such as the _Mandator IV_ Siege Dreadnought, were woefully under armed as a result of budget costs.

Karrde knew that the Star Destroyer was not looking for his head, still he couldn't help but feel nervous as he watched it descend. Talon Karrde was a professional smuggler and information broker. If somebody wished to know something, Karrde was the one to see. His network of spies, contacts, and informants was rivaled by only the Bothans and the Black Sun crime syndicate. While he often thought of himself as existing outside of the law of any one Galactic government, his actions were seen by many to be highly illegal. Still, Karrde saw himself as a man with principles. He was more than willing to steal and pirate data, but he would never lie to a paying customer, nor did he allow his organization to dabble in more insidious illegal practices such as drug or sentient trafficking. In many ways, he saw himself as a businessman and a captain of industry, an unorthodox one perhaps, but not a robber baron or a gangster.

Besides, as he often told confused recruits who questioned his methods, there were perks to being seen as an 'honorable' pirate. For instance, while he would sell information about the New Republic to the Imperial Remnant and vice versa, and both sides were willing to put up with and trade with him. After all, during any cold war there is a lucrative information market, and the dealing with a man like Karrde was much prefered to dealing with a gang of thugs such as Black Sun. Furthermore, his position allowed him to pick and choose which clients he wished to deal with and what the terms of their agreement would be. While the existence of multiple galactic powers greatly benefited his business, he did not wish for the war to become hot. Active galactic war benefited only the arms dealers, such as Black Sun, while smaller organizations such as his own would be looked upon with suspicion- not very good for business. As such, while he was eager to sell information to either side about conditions such as ship movements and supply statistics, in short easy to obtain information which served mostly to corroborate the reports that either side's intelligence organizations found out, he would rarely sell information that could lead to the early destruction of a regime.

The only major time he broke this principle was when he learned that the First Order was greatly increasing its warship sizes and production abilities. Rouge and militaristic regimes such as the First Order were as bad for business as the Black Sun, and as such whenever he would uncover any information relating to their activities, he would sell it for cheap to the New Republic, Imperial Remnant, Chiss Ascendency, and even the Hutt Cartels. His fears, as usual, turned out to be justified. When the First Order destroyed the Hosnian System, it was as if the entire Galaxy had been engulfed in a hot war while suffering from a sudden and unexpected economic depression- very bad for business indeed.

While he certainly would not throw his complete support behind one side in such turbulent times, he was more than willing to help whatever civilized faction he could to regain power, or at least an area of dominance, as fast as possible. Still, in times like these, the price for failure was dire. One wrong move and his allies could turn on him, and one wrong alliance and he could lose everything up to and including his life. But, such risks were sometimes necessary to save the Galaxy from itself.

The shuttle touched down and its boarding ramp descended. From the inside came a half dozen stormtroopers wearing suits of armor that had seen better days. While he knew that the shuttle belonged to the Empire of the Hand, not the First Order, he subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the classic helmet design.

Karrde's guards slowly surrounded the stormtroopers. While heavily armed, all pistols stayed in their holsters and all rifles stayed pointed down. Karrde's men may have outnumbered the Imperials five-to-one, but the head of any major criminal organization needs security. Karrde, who had been sitting sideways on a parked speeder bike as the shuttle descended, rose and walked over leaning slightly on his Greelwood cane. Karrde was very healthy for his age, but he did not take anything for granted, including his health, and was willing to use a cane to take pressure off his aging spine. Plus, it was a very stylish, but not too stylish, model.

From inside the shuttle came a man with blue skin. If Karrde had not trained himself to always maintain a pazaak face, he would have gasped. Many of his men did so, until they realized that the man in question was not the Grand Admiral himself, but a much younger Chiss officer.

"Greetings Talon Karrde of the Car'das Organization," said the young Chiss holding out his hand, "I am Lieutenant Thrass of the Empire of the Hand representing Grand Admiral Thrawn on this mission."

 _This boy sure loves his titles,_ thought Karrde as he shook his hand. "Welcome to this little slice of paradise," he replied sardonically, "Would you like any refreshments or shall we talk business out in the open?"

"I am fine," said the young man, "but we should probably talk about business matters in your office or study."

"You say so," said Karrde as he led the way inside a large hanger that served as his base of operations. The stormtroopers and Karrde's own men followed. Along the way, Karrde made small talk by pointing out all sorts of items scattered around the hanger and explaining their meaning and function. He, of course, did not reveal any secrets, but he knew that the free and open exchange of small and unimportant bits of knowledge worked a long way to improving diplomatic trust.

"...and over there behind them doors is the refresher in case you need to take care of personal matters," he finished up, "Oh hey! Here's my office." The office was a room with large glass windows that looked out over the hanger floor. He turned the handle. Instantly a large furry muzzle appeared and rubbed against Karrde's legs.

"Heeeeyyyy, good girl," he said scratching the creature behind the ears. Suddenly, the beast smelled the strangers and uttered a low growl.

"No! Stay!"

The creature yielded.

"Go! Go lay down!"

The beast, as well as a second one deeper inside the office, walked back to their beds.

"That's just New Drang," said Karrde, "Don't worry about her. She's a good girl."

"Was that a vornskr?" asked the Chiss.

"Yes, and I can get you some if you like. They make excellent guards if you train them right."

"No thanks- or at least not at this moment," said the Chiss as he followed Karrde into the office. The stormtroopers tried to follow, but Thrass waved them away. They continued to stand guard outside.

"So what are you in the market for?" asked Karrde taking his seat behind the desk. He fumbled around with some flimsiplast and papers on his desk before pressing a button on a datapad.

"Well," said the Chiss nervously looking down at his own datapad, "We- and by 'we' from this point on refers to the Empire of the Hand, specifically under the leadership of Grand Admiral Thrawn, and this is the Empire in isolation of- yes, do you have a question?"

Karrde was holding up a hand signaling the youth to stop. "Woah woah, hold on a minute. Are you sure you wouldn't like any refreshments?"

"I am sure," said Lieutenant Thrass.

"Well you just seem nervous, that's all. You're more than welcome to cut all the legalistic formulae. I just want to know what are you looking for, what are you offering, and why do you need it."

"Very well," the Chiss took a breath, "We would like to order as many Ysalamiri as you can supply. We have our own nutrient frames but need the creatures themselves."

"Very well," said Karrde, "But I thought I gave some to the Good Admiral a few years back."

"You did," said Thrass, "but they are old and many have already died. Furthermore, we have been unable to breed the creatures as they only become, uh, in heat, when around their natural habitat of Olbio trees. Unfortunately, we have been unable to plant these trees on other worlds as even in mineral-dense soil, they do not survive long for reasons that are still unclear to us."

"Understandable," Karrde nodded, "So why do you need the Ysalamiri in the first place?"

"As you know, the Ysalamiri project a bubble that nullifies the power of Jedi. We wish to use them for security measures."

"But the Jedi are dead."

"Yes," said the Chiss emphatically, "but we still need them just in case."

Karrde could tell there was something that the Chiss was telling him, but he let it slide. "Name your figure."

Lieutenant Thrass gave a prearranged sum. Karrde thought about haggling, but the sum was generous- at least as generous as one can hope for in such economic conditions.

"I'll see what I can do. Will there be anything else?"

"We would like all information relating to both rouge Imperial factions and the remains of the New Republic and the Resistance."

"As I'm sure you already know," said Karrde, "I am already supplying the Grand Admiral with such information."

"He says that he would like more," said the Chiss, "the details are contained in this envelope." From his pocket, the Lieutenant produced an envelope and handed it to Karrde.

"I'll take a look at this as soon as I get a minute. Anything else?"

"Well, if it's acceptable to you and your organization, the Grand Admiral Thrawn has requested images of your Ysalamiri facilities."

Karrde rose from the desk, "I'll do you one better, come, I can show you where I keep them and you can take all the pictures you need."

Thrass rose to his feet and followed Karrde out the door. They walked the length of the hanger, all the while Karrde continued to make small talk, this time asking small questions about how Thrawn and the Empire are doing almost as if they were two distant relatives reunited for Life Day. The Chiss usually stuck to one word answers.

They emerged from a side door. In front of them was a large tree with several small lizard-like creatures in the branched. Thrass walked over and examined them. Ysalamiri were small furry lizards who dwelled in trees. They were completely harmless and were dependant upon the trees that they inhabited to live. They would suck out the nutrient-rich sap from the bark for feeding, but this process was slow, requiring them to live in the trees almost constantly. The sap could be produced artificially, but the process was expensive, and the ysalamiri could then be transported in nutrient cages. Due to these costs, nobody would bother with them if not for their strange ability to nullify Force abilities around them. Through unknown means, Ysalamiri developed a way to prevent others from sensing them in the Force. This by itself was not too unusual, as there were other known species that evolved to be invisible to the Force, such as the mysterious Taozin, but the Ysalamiri took it a step further as their cloaking bubble spread outward from their bodies not only hiding them from others in the Force but preventing others from being affected by the Force at all.

Thrass pulled out his datapad and took pictures. The small lizards watched curiously. After a while, they made their way back to the Imperial shuttle. Before boarding the shuttle, Thrass turned around.

"Does Mara Jade still work for you?" he asked.

Karrde allowed himself to raise an eyebrow. "Yes, why?"

"Grand Admiral Thrawn would like her to extend an invitation to her," he said producing another envelope, "Please hand this to her."

Karrde took it slowly. "I'll see what I can do."


End file.
